The £12million January signing struck with 58 minutes gone - his third goal in five games - to give the home side a precious lead, but it took a 70th-minute penalty saved by Karl Darlow to deny Magpies old boy Yohan Cabaye an equaliser.

Victory, coupled with Sunderland's draw at Stoke, eased Newcastle out of the bottom three ahead of Norwich's trip to Arsenal and left the bulk of a crowd of 52,107 dreaming of a great escape with just two games remaining.

Benitez's men ran out knowing nothing short of a win would be good enough and a sell-out crowd at St James' Park settled down in the hope that Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce was correct in suggesting that Place's players would have been "on the pop" all week after reaching the FA Cup final.

If Allardyce's intention was to fire up- the Eagles, it certainly worked as they enjoyed the better of the first half.

Former Magpies head coach Alan Pardew enjoyed a relatively low key return to Tyneside with his presence barely acknowledged by a home crowd with rather bigger issues at stake, but his game-plan was apparent from the off.

The visitors targeted makeshift right-back Vurnon Anita from the first whistle with Yannick Bolasie employed as tormentor in chief, and Chancel Mbemba's efforts to help out his team-mate resulted in an early booking.

Jason Puncheon volleyed across goal after meeting Pape Souare's eight-minute cross and it took a fine challenge by Jamaal Lascelles to deny Connor Wickham a clear run at goal three minutes later.

Georginio Wijnaldum saw his volley saved by Wayne Hennessey, but opposite number Darlow had to beat away Cabaye's 27th-minute strike from a tight angle.

Bolasie was causing all kinds of problems and whistled a 33rd-minute piledriver just wide after Townsend had lost possession inside the Palace half, and he forced another fine save from Darlow with a stinging volley two minutes before the break.

In the meantime, Hennessey had to throw himself full-length to keep out Mbemba's long-range effort.

Wijnaldum went close five minutes after the restart when he turned past Cabaye from Mbemba's pass, but saw his shot blocked by Damien Delaney, and Hennessey fielded Townsend's 55th-minute effort with little difficulty.

But the former Tottenham, midfielder broke the deadlock in style three minutes later when, after being fouled by Scott Dann, he curled a superb free-kick past the helpless Hennessey.

Palace fought for a way back into the game as an increasingly nervous Newcastle dropped ever deeper in an attempt to preserve their lead, and the Eagles got their chance were awarded a penalty for handball by Moussa Sissoko as he challenged Scott Dann with 20 minutes remaining.

However, Darlow dived to his left to keep out Cabaye's effort as St James' breathed a collective sigh of relief, one which was repeated on the final whistle after a tense conclusion resulted in no further drama.

TWEET OF THE MATCH:

"Cabaye was a top player for #nufc but that could prove to be his most vital contribution to a game at SJP..." - Former Magpies midfielder Yohan Cabaye's penalty miss could be the turning point in Newcastle's season according to TV presenter Andy Kerr (@AndyKerrtv)

PLAYER RATINGS

Newcastle

Karl Darlow: 8

Vurnon Anita: 5

Paul Dummett: 6

Jamal Lascelles: 7

Chancel Mbemba: 6

Jack Colback: 7

Cheick Tiote: 6

Moussa Sissoko: 6

Georgino Wijnaldum: 5

Andros Townsend: 7

Papiss Cisse: 6

Subs

Aleksandar Mitrovic: 5

Ayoze Perez: 6

Jonjo Shelvey: 6

Crystal Palace

Wayne Hennessey: 6

Joel Ward: 5

Papa Souare: 6

Scott Dann: 7

Damien Delaney: 6

Mile Jedinak: 6

James McArthur: 5

Yohan Cabaye: 5

Yannick Bolasie: 8

Jason Puncheon: 6

Connor Wickham: 5

Subs

Bakary Sako: 5

Dwight Gayle: 5

Emmanuel Adebayor: 5

STAR MAN:

Yannick Bolasie: Newcastle would not have been celebrating tonight if Palace had another couple of players with Bolasie's verve and vibrancy. From the first minute the winger had Vurnon Anita and Chancel Mbemba on alert and they never fully got to grips with his awkward direct runs. He simply lacked a foil to turn his energetic display into something tangible.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH:

Newcastle fans undoubtedly loved seeing their former hero Yohan Cabaye miss from the penalty spot - and Karl Darlow's save was absolutely crucial in delivering three points. But Andros Townsend takes the honours, giving them a lead worth preserving with a brilliantly conceived free-kick that left Wayne Hennessey sprawling. Friends of irony will not have missed the fact that it was precisely the kind of set-piece Cabaye himself would have commandeered in his black and white days.

VIEW FROM THE DUGOUT:

On another day the return of Alan Pardew to St James' Park might have occupied the Newcastle fans' thoughts, but relegation battles have a way of focusing the mind. Instead the Palace boss was left alone to go about his business: predominantly pivoting in frustration as his side struggled for clear cut chances. Rafael Benitez was the crowd's preferred muse, with a series of bellowed chants hailing the Spaniard both before and after Townsend struck. If the Magpies stay up this unlikely pairing of manager and club could be seen as a master stroke.

MOAN OF THE MATCH:

Pardew insisted his side were coming to win, despite having little but pride to play for. But it was a curious sight to see the visitors indulge themselves with several examples of time-wasting in the first half. They were frequently slow to restart the game, lingered over throw-ins and generally dawdled.